Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,420,000 shares, an increase of 20.6% from the March 31st total of 16,100,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 8,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 111.2% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 172,792 shares of the airline's stock valued at $5,254,000 after buying an additional 90,983 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth approximately $726,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth approximately $210,000. Norden Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 29.8% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 19,457 shares of the airline's stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 4,469 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 16.1% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 9,185 shares of the airline's stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE:LUV traded down $0.28 on Wednesday, hitting $25.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,615,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,973,370. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $29.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.15. Southwest Airlines has a one year low of $21.91 and a one year high of $39.53.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 8.91%. Southwest Airlines's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.27) EPS. Research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on LUV. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "inline" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.59.

About Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co operates as a passenger airline company that provides scheduled air transportation services in the United States and near-international markets. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated a total fleet of 817 Boeing 737 aircraft; and served 121 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as ten near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.